Ultimatums
by rock'n'roll-princess
Summary: Half vampire twins Bella and Nessie move to Forks with their adoptive father Charlie. The Cullens are intrigued. What happens when the Volturi unexpectedly tresspass to deliver an ultimatum? Can they change the corrupt Vampire dictators in time?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The bad news is that I don't own Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, James or even Jacob. Stephenie Meyer does. However the good news is that I know that they all **_**WANT**_** me to own them.**

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**Prologue**

"_**If I can stop one heart from breaking,  
I shall not live in vain.  
If I can ease one life the aching,  
Or cool one pain,  
Or help one fainting robin  
Unto his nest again,  
I shall not live in vain" **_**By Emily Dickinson.**

I should regret having moved to Forks. It was undeniably one of the most dangerous mistakes ever made. Yet I can't deny the fact that I would do it again and again if ever given the chance.

Oscar Wilde once said, _"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."_

This is exactly why I cannot find it in me to regret it; before we moved there I merely _existed. _But with the help of some extraordinary people- especially one person- I was given the opportunity to actually _live._

I just hope those extraordinary people don't come to rescue me because I couldn't bear to put them in peril. I could not subject them to the repercussions of my own existence.

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"Bellaaa," Charlie and Nessie cooed. I remained silent, hoping I was dreaming that they were trying to get me to wake up. Instead I burrowed deeper into the covers and snuffled at the delightful smell; it smelled of _home_.

"Bells?" breathed Charlie in my ear. Nope, they were definitely there. I ignored them hoping they'd let me be.

"Bella-Bella," Nessie sang. Christ! My sister is way too persistent.

"Sweetie? Sugar? Darling?" I attempted to put my pillow over my head to block out the endearments Charlie knew I despised but the old-timer snatched it before my drowsy muscles could. "ISABELLA!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled back impetuously.

It really sucked to have a half vampire sister with ADHD and an adoptive father who was a cop and reeked of authority.

"Oh good, you're awake," Charlie grinned back triumphantly. I had to give it to the old man; he really knew how to push one's buttons. I think that's why he made such a great cop. He antagonized criminals into confession.

I smiled back at Charlie in a silent confirmation that I would be up. He huffed and exited my room whilst I snuggled back down into the blankets to savor my last five minutes in bed for the day. Unfortunately my omniscient, annoying sister decided to accompany me in my haven. I laid out my arm for her to rest her head on my shoulder. Despite being a pain in my ass I truly did love my sister dearly.

***

The reluctance to get out of bed transpired from many factors. Firstly it was cold and raining. Don't get me wrong, I loved rain because it gave that sense of peace and calm. I just preferred to watch and listen to it in the comfort of my bed. Yet the foremost challenge of the day would have to have been our first day at our new high school, 'Forks High.'

Some people thrive on the idea of going to a new school: fresh start, new friends, new rules, attention, and you can most probably pretend to be who ever you want to be. This may all be well and good for most people, but for me it was not likelihood. You see I was different from the rest. Nessie and I may have looked like your average teenagers, but I doubted the average teen prefers a balanced diet of food AND blood.

***

How we came to be that way all started with a love story. In a nutshell: our dad Phil who was a vampire fell madly in love with our human mom Renee. Before you knew it 'mini me's were on the way. Everything was just peachy until difficulties arose with the pregnancy. Mom wasn't strong enough. Unfortunately the birth of my twin sister and I caused the death of her. Phil was devastated and took out his anger on us with physical and mental abuse until we were unintentionally rescued by the Volturi at aged ten. They had, by some means, discovered our existence as half vampires and come to engage in damage control. As far as we know, we were the only half vampires and this caused concern for the Volturi because they had no idea of our capabilities, demeanor or anything else to do about us for that matter. They predicted we would wreak havoc like a neophyte. No doubt we would have been annihilated on the spot like our abusive father, had it not been for the underground chambers we were hidden in. They assumed we had left the house because our sweet scent was diffused by the many meters of earth above us. It was a shame they hadn't given Phil a change to talk before his swift execution because he would have no doubt ratted us out. He'd be turning in his grave right now, knowing we survived being tortured or murdered by the Volturi. Thankfully Phil had never sexually abused us- he was too disgusted with us 'devil spawn' for that- yet he tortured us mentally and physically to our capacity. We waited down in that black hole beneath the house a week until we were rescued by the neighborhood cop, Charlie, who in turn adopted us. He never found our dark secret and I doubted he ever would. I loved him more for his unawareness but still, I knew that if he held such knowledge he'd still love us. Charlie, Ness and I had an unspeakable, yet unconditional love. _He'd have to have an unconditional love to put up with Ness and her pranks. _

Eight years later, I still had insecurity and trust issues. Our once father inflicted unmentionable things on his two innocent children. And not to mention a mob of vampire royalty were inconsistently on the hunt for us. Nessie was my anchor though. If anything, the calamities we endured only made her stronger whereas on me it had the opposite effect.

***

"OW!" I yelled at my sister. She pinched me really hard on my butt.

"Sorry. The thinking you were doing looked like it hurt so I had to stop it somehow," She didn't sound sorry at all "what were you thinking Bells?"

"Just about school…" I trailed off. It wasn't exactly the truth because I had been thinking about it first, but it wasn't the absolute truth either.

"School…" Nessie's face took on a dreamy look. Uh-oh, I know that look. "I can't wait!" She squealed.

That was not the eagerness of a dedicated, academic student; it was the eagerness of a plotting devilkin. Ness never exactly had the track record of a saint. She regarded school as a playground to display her hyper-ness and funny business.

"I wonder if the principal of Forks High is as bitchin' as principal Crawley…?" Nessie mused.

I snorted.

The only reason she thought Crawley was "bitchin'" was because when he finally reached his breaking point from Ness' antics he actually hired a hit man to take her down. She was _that_ bad. Fortunately Ness conquered the hit man before he could do any damage to her. Otherwise I'd have been sister-less. It helped sometimes to be a half vampire and have a sheriff as a father.

At lunch that next day, the whole student body watched the arrest of principal Crawley, as Nessie promised him over the excited whispers of the students that she'd make sure the rest of the pupils keep in check. Mr. Crawley nearly blew a gasket at the irony of her words. She'd be the last person he'd appoint that task to.

I had to admit that she may have been a force to be reckoned with, but I loved her all the same. Sometimes I had to join in with her pranks in order to keep her out of danger. The last one I participated in was one of the last few leading up to principal Crawleys contracting a hit man. During the night Ness and I had snook into the school gym and rigged all the showers to spray out green fabric dye. The cheerleaders had to cheer the next day at the pep rally and home game like "the little green aliens they really are" as Ness had put it. Principal Crawley was furious to say the least. He had no evidence it was us but he knew without a doubt that Nessie was behind it all, as did the rest of the school. I tried to hide from all the attention that week when the majority of the student body came up to congratulate me on our "awesome stunt." Their constant focus on Nessie and I was unbearable, although Ness didn't seem to mind.

"Come on then Bells. Lets get up for the craptastic day of school" she said.

"You've changed your tune. A minute ago you were excited to scope out our new principal," I frowned, confused.

"I know. But I kinda promised the old man I'd behave for at least the first week" she grumbled. I chuckled. That's a feat I'd like to see, I thought.

***

I went downstairs to find Charlie sitting at the kitchen island, reading the newspaper and drinking a mug of coffee. I grabbed a sip of it before starting the breakfast. Other than a mock frown, Charlie said nothing. Just as the French toast was made for Charlie, Nessie entered the kitchen in her bathrobe. She must have just finished in the bathroom so I slid to her my untouched coffee and chucked her a cereal bar over my shoulder whilst I dashed upstairs to use the only bathroom.

"Why don't I get French toast like the old man?!" she complained. "Because you are a teenage girl and don't want to get fat!" I retorted. I heard Charlie huff. I _thought_ it was because it sounded as if nobody would care if _he_ got fat because he was already used to us calling him an 'old man.'

He wasn't really old to be honest. Sure, he was older than our eternally thirty year old father by about a decade, but forty was hardly ancient. He wasn't in too bad shape either because of his occupation and chasing after Ness twenty four seven, but you couldn't deny his slight beer belly.

As I washed myself in the steamy shower with my strawberry body wash and shampoo/conditioner my thoughts drifted back to school. I was really dreading the first day.

We'd recently moved from New Hampshire to Forks over the summer vacation for Charlie's job promotion. He was finally going to be a 'chief,' even if it was only in a small Podunk town. I wasn't angry about the decision to move here, but I wasn't too pleased about it either. With a population in the low hundreds everyone was bound to know each other and secrets and rumors were definitely a common occurrence. It wasn't an ideal place for two half vampires to stay inconspicuous. Yet it was hardly as if Charlie knew of our true genetic makeup, anyway. It's just in a large place we usually blended in.

Being the new girls at school we knew we would definitely attract unwanted attention. Especially there, where the pupils had remained the same since kindergarten. There was only one preschool, elementary school, middle school and high school in a fifty mile radius.

I left my sanctuary in the shower and got dressed, leaving my hair to dry naturally. I knew I'd regret that later as it would be in untamable curls, especially in the omnipresent mist there. Sometimes I felt a little bit jealous of my sister who had perfectly straight hair. I picked out my items of clothing without contemplation and donned the navy blue tank top and sweater and my black skinny jeans. Never much of a makeup person I only applied a little eyeliner and mascara, then lathered on my cherry flavored chap stick. I couldn't stand that lip gloss stuff. I personally thought it looked revolting, as if someone had a dribbling problem. I also had a weird image in my head of a guy getting glued to a girls glossed lips. I knew it wasn't possible but it was kind of off-putting.

Nessie knocked on my door as she hummed the mission impossible theme tune on her way downstairs. I think it was in retaliation of Charlie's expectations of her for the day.

I grabbed my brown messenger bag and chased down the stairs after her. Nessie was putting on the red chucks while I quickly grabbed the black ones. Between the two of us we had a rainbow assortment of chuck Taylor's which we shared (we owned other shoes and boots as well, but chucks were the most practical and versatile). Nessie regarded the raincoats with disdain whilst I snatched them up with our long grey knit gloves. They were a far cry from the skimpy leather jackets Ness was used to wearing. She liked to dress the part as well as act the part of a bad girl. But I noticed her attire was toned down a notch for once; instead of the typical punk/ bad girl attire she wore the same clothes as me, albeit a red tank top and sweater. We looked too much alike as it was, never mind wearing similar clothes. I didn't say anything or change though.

"PEACE OUT CHIEF!" Nessie hollered to Charlie in the kitchen.

"Bye Ness. Have a great day girls." Charlie called, and then added on gravely, as an after thought "Watch out for her Bells, please!"

"Will do dad. See you at dinner" I said.

Snatching the keys from the counter, I ran out to 'The Beast.' Nessie had named it, and I agreed that it suited it well. Not only did it look like one, it sounded like one too with its obnoxious rumbling.

***

I drove which suited Ness fine because she could have free reign of the music stations. She found an oldies station that played rock and roll from the seventies. The opening piano chords of 'Let It Be' by the Beatles began. It was slightly depressing to listen to it so early in the morning and on the first day of school.

The second song came up. That was more high spirited. It was "My Generation" by The Who. I peeked to my right to find Nessie grinning wickedly at me and nodding. She new this song was my weakness; it made me loose my inhibitions. She cranked the volume up high and we rocked out to it, singing, dancing (well bouncing), tapping and laughing. In my moment of madness I hadn't realized we'd reached the school. As I turned off the ignition there was a poignant silence.

I also hadn't realized it was _that_ loud.

Nessie was already out of the truck and giggling as she retrieved the jackets from the back. When I stepped out I realized everyone in the car park was staring at our truck, or more accurately at us. Mortified, my cheeks burned and I tried to cover my face with my waist length hair but it was hopeless; the damage was already done. Ness cackled and swung an arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry Bells. I'm sure they loved our rockin' out!" She chirped. She did that on purpose. She knew I don't like to make a spectacle of myself.

Humiliated beyond belief, I watched my feet as she dragged me towards the front office.

The small room was stifling hot in comparison to the harsh weather outside. The door clicked shut and a feeling of claustrophobia settled upon me. Adorning the walls were various plants and there was possibly only twenty square feet of empty space to begin with. Behind the desk sat a lady with fire engine red hair and rosy cheeks. As we had entered the room her eyes had lit up like a starved African kid spotting candy.

Nessie snickered quietly so only I could hear and I groaned in foreboding.

"You must be the Swan kids. Ooooh. It's not often we get new students. It's a pleasure to have you here at Forks High" she gushed.

I cringed. Even the weird lady knew who we were.

"Yup, that's us" Nessie said nonchalantly.

The lady seemed slightly put out by Nessie's lack of enthusiasm so I thought I'd put her out of her misery.

"Thank you very much…" I looked at her, realizing I didn't know her name.

"Mrs. Cope" she replied. I reluctantly forced out a quiet "happy to be here too."

"So here are your schedules. And here's a map each, although I don't think you'll need it because I have a committed student who kindly offered to show you around. Here he is now," she said as a short elfish looking boy squashed his face into the glass of the door, grinning like a dork.

"Have a nice day girls!" Mrs. Cope called cheerily. I doubted it. I held back a grunt but Nessie looked like she was ready to pee herself in excitement. We exited the room towards the boy.

"Hi beautiful ladies. My name's Mike." He eyed us both up and down slowly and held out his hand in greeting. I looked at it in trepidation. I feared for the sanitization of my hand if I shook his, firstly because he was a teenage boy, secondly I wouldn't have put it past him to kiss it, and thirdly I noticed his hair was gelled in hundreds of spikes. He probably still had gel on them.

"Hello," I said quietly "I'm Bella and this is Nessie." Even if I didn't want to shake his hand I could still try and be polite.

Nessie grabbed his hand and shook it forcefully while she honed her vision in on his hair. She too obviously found it freaky because she wore a look of amazement. I agreed with her. I thought the male population had grown out of that in the nineties. Mike obviously seemed oblivious to that and was bouncing up and down excitedly. Ness put a hand on his head to retain his bouncing and brushed her fingers through his hair. Instead of being annoyed with her ruining his 'do' he looked on adoringly at her.

"Well aren't you a little puppy?" She chuckled.

The first three periods went past successfully. We got a lot of stares and heard lots of whispers directed at us (our hearing was slightly advanced being a vampire/human hybrid) yet nobody approached us. Nessie was in most of the lessons with me and she even kept her promise about being good. Charlie would have been so proud.

***

Fourth period was different.

I had AP art. Nessie had AP music. She always liked to make a lot of noise.

As I stumbled into the art room I noticed there were only six people in it including myself. There was a division in the group; the table at the back and to the right consisted of a tall, thin, part Asian girl with long brown hair and eyes. She also supported some trendy black designer glasses similar to my own. Mine weren't for poor vision though, quite the opposite actually. I used them to tone down what I saw; especially when I was painting I got migraines because the intricacy of things was often hard on the eyes. With the advanced vision we can see follicles in objects. Sometimes when I painted without my glasses I painted things others couldn't see.

Next to the girl sat a boy: he wasn't extremely short, but in comparison to the girl he looked it. He had incredibly curly hair- spongy like an afro- which contradicted his skinny emo-ish apparel.

On the other side of the room sat two boys and a tiny girl. Their eyes followed me incredulously as I walked to the front to drop off my slip at the teacher's desk. I tried hard not to stumble, so I watched my feet and ignored their faces. Even if I couldn't see them, I could still feel their gazes burning a hole in my back.

I made it to a desk alone just behind the two groups and let out a deep sigh of relief when I noticed a peculiar smell. It was distinctly familiar but stronger than I had ever smelled it before. I just couldn't put my finger on what it smelled like though.

Turning my head to the right I discreetly breathed in the air of the tall girl and small boy. They smelled of the usual coppery fragrance of fresh blood and their own distinguishing aroma. Turning my head slightly to the left and leaning my mouth in my palm as if just resting it, I took a deep, slow breath. The scent was definitely coming from one of those three, if not all of them.

It was so potent.

I turned back to the front and listened as the teacher set our assignment. I knew I could figure it out later. The teacher set the assignment of drawing a picture that held a secret. I could hear Angela whispering to Ben about the Mona Lisa and the secrets it supposedly kept in the Da Vinci Code. To my left I only heard silence. It was if they hadn't even moved a muscle.

Before I started jotting down ideas, I took another deep, slow breath to try and figure it out again, but I froze in fear half way through exhalation as dawning came upon me.

Blood.

_Or rather lack thereof._

The feeling of ice trickled down my spine as the recognition of what they were became me.

_Vampires!_

Their aroma reminded me of Phil's. I knew I had smelled it before.

_But how could they stand being in a place inhabited by so many humans_, I wondered.

To try and confirm my suspicions I assessed their pale, translucent skin and the lack of the barely distinguishable heartbeat I could usually hear from a human. Saving the worst until last I slowly raised my head to examine their supposedly blood red eyes, but shockingly I was faced with three pairs of curious, luminous gold eyes.

_What. The. Hell? _

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**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so please go easy on me. Though that doesn't mean I don't appreciate constructive criticism (just no bitchin' is what I mean). Also this is the first chapter so it is a bit descriptive and boring. Please forgive me, I promise it will get better! If you have any questions about my story I will be honored if you'd ask.**

**Reviews= Love...and I need a little bit of TLC. =P**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: Edward's not mine unfortunately.**

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_Golden eyes?!_

Were they vampires? Or were they simply something else?

Either way posed a possible threat to Nessie and me.

Even if I wasn't sure if they were vampires, I was certain they weren't human.

True, Nessie and I didn't have the distinctive red eyes either. That was one of our deceptive human traits as a human/vampire hybrid.

In my mind I concluded that they must have been vampires because I had no proof that any other mythical creature really existed.

What did their eyes mean?

Fear trickled its way down my back as I thought of the possibilities of what they could have been. Assuming that they were vampires, I wondered what kind had golden eyes. Were they some kind of evolved vampires that ate flesh as well as drank the blood?

Even though it was not the time for my childish, overactive imagination, I couldn't help but laugh in my mind. Were they authentic Hannibal Lecters? He drank blood and ate flesh, right?

I shook my head to dispel such thoughts and instantly remembered the seriousness of the situation.

Why were they in a school?

It was hard enough for us to be around so much fresh, pumping blood. Wouldn't the blood lust be damn near impossible for _them_?

I looked over to the table on my left. All three of them were devastatingly beautiful. I wasn't surprised in the least. It was a vampire's magnetism mechanism. Their beauty lures in the unsuspecting victims.

Even their features weren't marred by the murderous look the two guys graced me with. Though, it wasn't their actions that worried me the most. The miniature girl in the middle was bouncing up and down in her seat in excitement, whilst watching me with unrelenting interest.

Was she bouncing in her seat because she couldn't wait to get a piece of me, I wondered.

Were they there by request of the Volturi to take Nessie and me, I thought. Were they waiting until there were no witnesses to attack?

Even if they _weren't_ with the Volturi, it still wasn't safe.

The boy closest to me on the table on the left had beach blonde tousled locks with washboard abs. He was hunky. The girl in the middle could not be described as anything but a pixie; she was tiny, angular and skinny in the extreme. I would call her funky. However I could find no words to describe the boy with bronze sex hair and a lean figure. He was indescribable. Beautiful beyond words.

During the rest of the lesson I tried to keep in touch with reality. Angela, the tall, half Asian girl and Ben, the afro guy joined my table. They seemed really pleasant and genuine people, and it felt really nice making new friends for once in my life. Usually people felt intimidated by us. I didn't think it had anything to do with us being slightly different, but because Nessie and I were usually inseparable.

I could understand why people would keep their distance from those three, though. They oozed danger, beauty and confidence.

"Would you like to sit with us at lunch?" Angela asked timidly.

"I'm sorry Angela. My sister and I are visiting Charlie during lunch break," I said. I felt terrible that I had to let her down, but my sister's safety was more important at that moment.

"Oh, who's Charlie?" She asked. She tried to hide her disappointment and it made me feel even guiltier.

"My Dad. But I'd love for you to meet my sister. So maybe we could join you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure. She was in English with you this morning, wasn't she?" she smiled knowingly.

"Yes," I smiled too. "She's a bit of a hand full, isn't she?"

Nessie had been asked to read _one_ part of the play Hamlet. Unfortunately she liked the sound of her voice too much and continued to read everyone's lines in varying dialects. Often she would voice her own opinions on the characters; Hamlet was an incestuous little shit-head, and Ophelia was a prissy nut job. I would have found it amusing if I wasn't sitting next to her and attracting the attention of so many strangers.

"I'd say she's more of a breath of fresh air, actually" Angela giggled, covering her mouth in a shy gesture. She really was too nice for her own good.

The bell rang and I left the art room, the Hannibal Lecters and Angela and Ben like a bat out of hell. I gave a chaste wave over my shoulder to Angela and Ben.

***

Outside of the room stood Nessie, and I nearly rammed into her in my hasty departure.

"Where's the fire Bells? Miss me already?" She asked, but the expression on my face must have made her realize something was wrong.

"What's bugging you?"

I ignored her and tugged her by the hand out into the parking lot and to the truck.

"Please get in the truck, Nessie," I said flatly. She climbed in and I ran around to my side at barely a human pace.

We drove in silence for about ten minutes before Nessie couldn't stand it.

"Ditching _already_? On the first day of school?" she asked incredulously. Even for her it was a long stretch. I threw her a side glance.

"Okay, what's up your ass?" she said.

"Vampires" I said muttered.

"_Literally?! _God Bella, that's gross, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing!" she teased. For once I wasn't in the mood.

I shook my head annoyed.

"Nessie, I'm being serious," I moaned. "There are vampires here. _Here_ in Forks."

"Oh" she said, shocked "how many?"

"Three as far as I know," I said.

The silence stretched for a few minutes while we both thought it over.

"Do you think they're in alliance with the Volturi?" she asked the same question I did.

"I don't know. I didn't actually stay to ask them," I clipped.

"Well what are we going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know. Let's get some blood and then get back home before Charlie does," I said.

I knew we couldn't leave again because it would break Charlie's heart. Forks was his hometown and he had finally got promoted to chief police. Not to mention that he would be suspicious if we wanted to leave because we had only just arrived there.

I started up the truck and drove to the nearest hospital, the Olympic Medical Centre.

***

It was the first time we had fed on blood since we moved from New Hampshire. I parked at the side of the A & E doors and Nessie got out of the truck, leaning into open the window and said "Be back in a jiffy."

She went inside to steal some blood.

It sounded terrible. Like we'd suck the blood of the sick or that we snagged the blood transfusions from a croaking old man. But it was far from sinister what we had to do to stay alive.

We simply stole blood bags from the hematology unit. Nessie nor I liked the idea of killing anybody for blood, so stealing was the next best thing. In the ten commandments coveting definitely came after murder. It's not like we ever strictly complied with the bible.

Besides:

**B**asic

**I**nstructions

**B**efore

**L**eaving

**E**arth

And Nessie always said that instructions and rules were _meant_ to be broken.

Within two minutes Nessie entered and exited the A & E department. I tried not to laugh as a bunch of guys whistled and ogled her chest as she dashed past them, her boobs bouncing, towards the truck. Little did _they_ know that her enhanced bosom was not real or even filled with chicken fillets.

She got in the car grinning like a Cheshire cat and I socked her in the belly.

"Get 'em out now before I do it myself," I growled. That was totally an empty threat.

"Getting frisky little sis?" she smirked but reached in her top to retrieve the blood all the same.

She slapped them on the dashboard and I started the long journey home.

***

When we got there Nessie took one of the bags into our room to the mini fridge under her bed.

The other I poured into two cups and filled the remainder with water. We swiftly drank those and started preparing Charlie's dinner.

Well I prepared and Nessie kept me company.

As we waited for the pasta to boil, we got back to the latest most concerning topic.

"So any thoughts on how we're going to handle this?" Nessie asked.

"Well there is nothing we can do," I said seriously.

Charlie came home shortly after that and we all settled down for dinner.

"So girls, how was your first day?" Charlie asked.

"Boring" Nessie said the same time I said "fine."

Charlie smiled. He already knew they were our usual comments.

"Are either of you going to ask me how my day was?" Charlie said breezily, but looked pointedly at Nessie. I noticed she was looking down at her pasta like it was the most amusing thing in the universe. She coughed gravely and tried to cover up her amusement with a serious expression.

I looked at them both, confused.

"I will tell you anyway," Charlie said saccharinely.

"Well, when I went to arrest some hells angels, down at the tavern after things had gotten rowdy I pulled out a pair of _red fluffy handcuffs _from my pouch." _Uh-oh._

"Harry, my partner, found it hilarious until the bikers thought we were stripper grams and insisted we start the show already," he said his voice which had remained even cracked on the last word.

"Can you imagine what happened when one of the guys groped Harry and I pulled out a _black dildo_ instead of a _nightstick_?!" His voice escalated higher.

I couldn't hold my laughter in anymore and a few giggles managed to seep though my lips.

"It was not funny!" Charlie shouted exasperated, though when he saw our faces he couldn't help but see the funny side too.

Charlie's chuckles calmed and he finished the rest of his little rant.

"They were twice our size Bells. And there were about ten of them…they could have raped me!!!" He said forlorn. Unfortunately it made me laugh even more.

We were all hunched over laughing by that point and Nessie waited until we all calmed down before speaking for the first time in a while.

"So you had a good first day then?" she asked innocently.

Charlie ruffled her hair and said, "I made a real good impression down at the station. In fact the boys can't wait to meet you. They already think you're a hoot."

We went back to silence after that and continued eating our food. It made me feel even guiltier. Leaving was definitely not an option. Charlie clearly adored Forks.

Charlie went to watch the game while we did the dishes. Just as we finished, there was a knock on the door.

Who visited at nine pm, I thought perplexed.

"I'll get it!" I shouted out to Charlie, although he hadn't even acknowledged someone at the door in the first place. He was too engrossed in his game.

I pressed my ear to the door but couldn't her anybody behind it. Not a heartbeat.

Maybe it was kids playing rat-a-tat ginger, I thought.

I opened the door to see if I could see the kids but nearly had a heart attack when I came face to face with a blonde haired beauty.

"Gah!" I yelped and covered my rapidly beating heart.

The beautiful blonde haired man, who was even more gorgeous than any movie star I had ever seen, looked at me sympathetically.

I looked over his shoulder and recognized the three vampires from my art class. Not only were there three, but there were another three alongside them, not including Blondie.

I flashed my wide eyes back to Blondie and realized in horror why he had had no heartbeat and took in the big golden eyes I had missed.

_He was the same as them._

All traces of humor from dinnertime were long gone. In its place, unadulterated fear was harboring.

In the meantime Nessie had sidled up next to me and she too was also watching over the seven of them in horror.

Even when there were only three of them our chances of survival were slim, never mind that there were seven of them.

At our house.

With Charlie.

"Go get Charlie. Take him out for fire wood out back," I growled to Nessie under my breath, quieter even than they could hear.

She frowned at me but said nothing as she ran back inside. If anyone could save Charlie it was Nessie; she had a gift. It was a physical shield. I had a mental shield. Fat lot of good mine was.

She would not have been able to protect the three of us and fight at the same time, whilst keeping our secret under wraps from Charlie. It was impossible. So she acknowledged my warning with a glare and left.

I stepped outside and clicked the door shut behind me. All obstacles between them and my family were welcomed; even if it did nothing to stop them, at least it would have slowed them down by a millisecond or two.

It felt like minutes had gone past but in fact it was mere seconds.

"What do you want?" I asked the blonde man quietly. I could barely speak; I was so choked up in fear. For all I knew, they were either going to take me to the Volturi or kill me.

I regarded the others and noted that two of them were slightly older; Blondie and a caramel haired woman. The others were around my age.

The Blonde haired man stepped back, realizing he was too close for comfort. Then he stretched out his hand and smiled warmly at me.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is my family." He gestured to the others before stretching out his hand and smiling warmly at me.

I flashed my eyes from his family to his hand, but did not shake it. I didn't trust them. Apart from Carlisle, the caramel haired lady, and the pixie, the rest were glaring at me.

Carlisle looked hurt and looked back at the majority of his family that were still glaring at me. He hissed at them and they all turned sheepish.

It intrigued me that these vampires could take on the pretense that they were a loving family with an authoritative father figure.

"What do you want from us?" I repeated with more courage this time. My voice only cracked on the last word.

They hadn't attacked yet, so I felt a little bit more confident.

A blonde girl at the back snarled at my lack of manners but Carlisle shot her a warning glare. She huffed, stomped her foot, then dragged the largest looking brute and the blonde boy from art off with her into the woods. I was mildly relieved that the largest and scariest had gone.

"I'm awfully sorry for their attitudes. It's just they don't know whether to consider you a threat," Carlisle said politely.

I looked up at him in confusion.

"Excuse me?" I said incredulously.

"Well we know you are not normal and are not entirely certain what your capabilities or temperaments are," Carlisle said embarrassed.

"You consider us a threat when four times as many of you turn up at our house, unannounced. Not to mention the fact that you are stronger than us, no doubt. And then there's also the possibility that you could be working for the Volturi," I whispered harshly, trying not to get too loud. "And you consider _us_ a threat?!"

"Oh," Carlisle gave me an apologetic look. "I suppose we didn't think about it from that perspective. I'm terribly sorry. For the record, we honestly mean you no harm."

I felt horrible being so harsh to Carlisle because as far as I could tell he seemed harmless and so polite. I could understand why the others respected him.

"So are you?" I asked.

Carlisle looked at me confused.

"Working with the Volturi?" I continued.

"Oh good heavens, no," the caramel haired lady butted in. She looked horrified at the idea. She smiled at me warmly and it made my toes tingle. I had never had a mother figure and I always imagined my mother would be all warm smiles like that.

I believed her. Everything about her seemed genuine.

Besides, if they were in alliance with the Volturi, wouldn't they have taken or murdered me by now, I thought.

The lady looked down at something in her hands with disdain and I followed her gaze. In her hands were some cookies. She looked from the cookies to me in trepidation. My big smile must have been enough of a confirmation for her.

"I'm Esme, dear," she trilled as she trotted forward in vampire speed and squeezed me into a tight motherly hug. I hugged her back just as fiercely and accepted the cookies she offered.

"I'm sure Chief Swan will like them," she said.

"Without a doubt, thank you," I said whilst grabbing one and snarfing it down. They were absolutely delicious!

I wiped away the crumbs and noticed the looks of morbid fascination on all of their faces.

A deep scarlet blush covered my cheeks.

"What's the matter?" I asked, scared.

"You can eat?" Carlisle asked in awe.

"Um…yeah?" I said confused.

"That's incredible," he said.

"She can sleep too, Carlisle," the pixie girl said. I didn't want to know how she knew that. "I'm Alice by the way," she added. She danced up to me with the grace of a ballerina and kissed both my cheeks daintily, like a European.

"We are going to be the best of friends!" She squealed.

A bubbly little thing she was. It surprised me that she kept quiet for so long. She was bouncing on her feet like earlier in anticipation.

She was actually quivering in joy.

"And that Mr. Grumpy over there is Edward," she gestured over to Mr. Indescribable.

Even pouting and brooding he was inhumanly beautiful. I blushed and averted my eyes, realizing I was staring.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked politely.

I knew I believed them. They seemed harmless. I mean, what kind of vampire brought home made cookies to strangers?!

But being a worry wart for the majority of my life made it hard for me to trust anyone.

"No, we don't want to make you feel anymore uncomfortable. We won't impose in your home. We really must be going, to find Rosalie and calm her down before school tomorrow," Carlisle said.

I felt slightly relieved. I didn't fear them but home was a safe place and I didn't trust them completely yet.

"Okay, if you're sure," I said.

"I want you to know that we are not a danger to you and your family. We seek normality and peace like a respectable human. You must have noticed our family is different to other vampires," Carlisle said seriously.

"If there is anything we can ever do for you or if you need our help, we are here for you," Esme said, rubbing my arms up and down in a reassuring gesture.

"Thank you," I said, trying to swallow a lump in my throat.

Esme, Carlisle and Alice smiled at me, Edward remained impassive, and in a heartbeat they were gone.

***

I raced into the woods behind the house where I found Charlie and Nessie a mile into the thicket.

"Isabella Swan. Don't you dare tell me you walked into this wood on your own to find us," Charlie scolded.

"Okay then, I didn't," I said, smiling cheekily.

Nessie tackled me to the floor in a big hug.

"Gah! Get off fatty!" I screeched.

"Not till the fat lady sings!" she countered, obviously meaning me.

***

That night I lay in bed tossing and turning. I had so much on my mind.

Attempting to role myself into a comfy position, hopefully for the last time I had the fright of my life.

"Hello."

Sitting in my rocking chair was Edward.

He was the last person I thought out of the Cullen family that would have been over for a friendly visit.

"Christ on a bike! Don't you knock?!" I hissed.

"The people I visit usually hear me coming," he said.

Silence ensued for a few minutes.

"Is there a reason you are here?" I asked quietly.

"I guess," was all he said.

More silence followed, all except for Charlie's light snores and the ticking from the kitchen clock.

I was just dozing off into a light sleep when two golden orbs appeared right in front of my face.

I startled myself back into consciousness.

I was getting quite annoyed that he was keeping me from my sleep when he had no objective.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked annoyed.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I will answer it," he said.

"Why are your eyes gold?" I inquired.

"Our diet," he said insufficiently.

"What of your diet?" I nudged him along.

He was silent for a few moments.

He sighed and gave in. I guess the determined look in my eyes was not negotiable.

"We only drink animal blood," he said simply.

"Oh," I mumbled and blushed.

"Why are you blushing?" He asked confused.

"Well my overactive imagination told me you were like Hannibal Lecter, or something." He looked confused. "You know, the whole flesh eating, blood drinking shebang…" I mumbled, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Oh, wow," he said and he scratched the back of his neck in a nervous habit. "Not quite."

"Can I ask you another question?" I asked.

"Well you didn't really give me a choice…" he smiled.

"Don't get smart with me Cullen. You still don't know what I'm capable of yet," I teased, using what they had mentioned earlier.

"How do you know what I am?" I asked all traces of humor gone.

"I still don't know exactly what you are, but we have a theory," he said bemused.

"Well considering you already answered one of my questions, it's only fair that I answer the question I'm sure is on your mind first," I said cutting to the chase.

"My dad was like you - Charlie's not my dad by the way- and my mom was normal. And I think you can make your own conclusions from that," I trailed off, getting embarrassed.

There was more silence.

"So did I prove your theory right?" I asked.

"Mmhmm," he murmured.

He leant in closer to my face and his sweet scent filled my senses and his cool breath caressed my neck.

I could feel myself drifting off to sleep again.

"Your blood smells so sweet mixed with the venom," he said.

"huh?" I mumbled incoherently.

"That's how I knew you weren't human," he said.

"Oh,"

I couldn't resist sleep anymore. His cool breath, smell, and mellow voice were my own personal lullaby.

And for once in my life I felt safe.

"Stay?" I whispered out before I fell under.

He leant further forward, stroked my hair and placed a cold kiss on my forehead.

***

For the rest of the week the Cullen's kept their distance from us, both in school and out of it.

Though, during the day I noticed the long stares Edward kept sending my way and the way Alice looked like someone had kicked her puppy every time we caught each others eyes.

By the time Friday came around I was utterly confused by the distance the Cullen's had enforced.

I felt as if I had cooties or something!

That all changed on Saturday morning when I woke up because Nessie was sat on the edge of my bed next to Alice and was staring Edward down like a sergeant.

I rolled my eyes at Alice who smiled. We both knew who would win that staring competition. Unlike Edward Nessie needed to blink.

"What is with the congregation in my bedroom on a Saturday morning-" I looked at my bedside clock "-at eight o'clock?" I asked sleepily.

"Well these freaks scared the shit out of me in my bed this morning and I nearly beat the snot out of them," Nessie growled.

"Ahem, you are the freak and there is no chance in hell that you could ever beat us," Edward sneered at her.

"Could too!" Nessie retorted childishly.

Edward stood up from the rocking chair threateningly.

"Back down kiddiewinks!" Alice shouted.

Edward shot her the stink eye.

"We came here to invite you over to our home. Our family would be delighted to show you the way we live," Edward said calmly.

I was thinking about what Charlie was doing for the day, but before I could even put it into words and ask Nessie, Alice cut me off.

"He's gone fishing with Harry Clearwater," she said.

I looked at her confused. I wondered how she knew what I was going to ask.

* * *

**  
Thanks for reading guys. I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I wanted to make my plan more descriptive, so now I know where I'm going with this story. We have also been decorating, so I have been too busy to write in the last fortnight. **


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